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Journal Article This study examines whether levels of father engagement (e.g., verbal stimulation, caregiving, and physical play) vary by race/ethnicity using a model that controls for fathers' human capital, mental health, and family relationships. It also tests whether the models work similarly across race/ethnic groups. Its sample of N=5,089 infants and their families is drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). We found that, after including controls, African American and Latino fathers had higher levels of engagement in caregiving and physical play activities than…
This fact sheet defines social and emotional competence in children and offers tips for parents on how to guide development of social and emotional competence for their children.
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Journal Article In a prospective, longitudinal investigation we examined fathers' engagement in learning activities with their children in early childhood in relation to children academic performance in 5th grade. Participants were 602 low-income, ethnically diverse biological fathers and their children from the National Early Head Start evaluation study. Fathers reported on their engagement with children in learning activities as well as their residency when children were two years, three years, and of preschool age; children were assessed on receptive language, reading and math skills in 5th grade.…
Part of a series of fact sheets that discuss how and why the child support program provides innovative services to families across six interrelated areas to assure that parents have the tools and resources they need to support their children and be positively involved in raising them, this fact sheet focuses on ways in which the child support program can help prevent the need for its services by promoting responsible childbearing and parenting choices and by raising awareness--especially among teenagers--of the financial, legal, and emotional responsibilities of parenthood. Examples of how…
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Journal Article Similarities or differences in parenting between reports about mothers and fathers may be associated with the format of the questionnaire. The purpose of this study was to examine three questionnaire formats for collecting the same data about fathers and mothers from adolescents and emerging adults. Study 1 used secondary data analyses from three cross-sectional studies with 820 Latino adolescents using the three survey formats. Study 2 used data from a blind experimental design with 472 emerging adults where the three survey formats were randomly assigned to participants. The analyses from…
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Journal Article Using a sample of fathers who are firefighters (N = 473), we first examined the link between work role stressors and fatherhood role salience in predicting work-to-family conflict. Second, we examined how each of those was associated with parenting stress and satisfaction with parenting and children's behavior. Occupational stress, working over 60 hours per week, and lack of sleep were associated with greater work-to-family conflict, as was perceived childcare load. Work-to-family conflict was associated with higher parenting stress and lower parenting satisfaction. Working more than 60 hours…
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Journal Article Qualitative interviews with 215 fathers describe the emergent and responsive nature of the father-child relationship and its consequent influence on fathers themselves. Using a social constructionist or dialogic model of relationships, we highlight the importance of understanding the experience of fathers as they are actively engaged in responsive, relational, and interactional activities with their children. Fathers' descriptions of responsiveness highlight father-child interaction "in the moment," attention to children's expression of needs, and the influence of fathers' own sets of…
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Journal Article Much is unknown about how traditional fathering roles have changed in the developing nations in conjunction with the rise of nuclear dual earner families. Fathers' employment leave patterns and involvement with children were assessed for a convenience sample of 86 parents in Bangladesh. Fifty-nine mothers and 27 fathers completed self-administered questionnaires on employment leave, child care activities, and attitudes. Questionnaires and measures used were based on a United States (U.S.) study with a comparable sample (cf. Seward, Yeatts, Amin, & DeWitt, 2006) in order to allow a…
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Journal Article Efforts to reduce infant mortality in the United States have failed to incorporate paternal involvement. Research suggests that paternal involvement, which has been recognized as contributing to child development and health for many decades, is likely to affect infant mortality through the mother's well-being, primarily her access to resources and support. In spite of that, systemic barriers facing the father and the influence on his involvement in the pregnancy have received little attention. The Commission on Paternal Involvement in Pregnancy Outcomes (CPIPO) has identified the most…
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Journal Article Background: Maternal depression is common and is known to affect both maternal and child health. One of the mechanisms by which maternal depression exerts its effects on child health is through an increased rate of parental disharmony. Fathers also experience depression, but the impact of this on family functioning has been less studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between paternal depressive disorder and family and child functioning, in the first 3 months of a child's life. Methods: A controlled study comparing individual and familial outcomes in fathers with…
